The No. 5-ranked Emory volleyball team closed out its opening weekend of action by splitting a pair of Saturday contests at the Emory Classic. The Eagles fell to Illinois Wesleyan University, 3-1 (25-12, 22-25, 20-25, 23-25), in their first action of the day before rolling to a 3-0 triumph (25-8, 25-12, 25-20) over Covenant College.
In the IWU contest, Emory got out of the blocks quickly, using five kills apiece by junior Morgan McKnight and sophomore Leah Saunders and hitting .389 (15-1—36) in grabbing the initial set. The Titans and Eagles then waged a back-and-forth tussle in the second set, which saw Emory knot the score at 14-14 following a termination by senior Karissa Dzurik. A 4-1 spurt by IWU pushed the visitors to a 19-15 edge, but Emory fought back and drew to within two points on four occasions before the Titans finally secured the set. Emory's lone lead in the third game came on the opening point of the set, which saw IWU eventually claiming a 15-8 cushion. Trailing by a 22-17 count, the Eagles drew to within three points (20-23) after a kill by Dzurik, but the Titans accounted for the final two points to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Emory enjoyed the upper hand early in the fourth set, staking itself to a 7-3 edge after a kill by sophomore Finn Wilkins. A successful attack attempt by sophomore Maggie Rimmel extended the Eagles' advantage to 12-7, and they still maintained a 17-13 margin after senior Becky Breuer doled out an ace. Trailing by four points, the Titans scored six of the next seven points to claim a 21-20 lead. Emory tied the score at 23-23 following an IWU service error, but the Titans tallied the next two points to seal the victory. McKnight led the Eagles with 17 kills, tying her career high that she set the first night of the Classic, while Dzurk rang up 13 terminations. Emory outhit IWU, .275 (56-15—149) vs. .255 (53-17—141), while the Titans notched a 68-65 edge in digs.
Emory regrouped in the Covenant affair, using strong serving from junior Sara Carr in blasting off to an 11-0 lead to start the opening set. From there, the Eagles never looked back, ending the match hitting .411 (42-12—73) compared to the Scots -.041 (14-17—73). With Emory Head Coach Jenny McDowell liberally using her bench, freshman Tara Martin wound up pacing the squad with nine kills en route to registering an attack percentage of .429 (9-3—14). Rimmel added seven terminations and hit .778 (7-0—9) while senior Carly Saitman chipped in five kills.
McKnight and Saunders were the Emory representatives on the Classic All-Tournament Team.
The Eagles return to action next Thursday (Sept. 6) when it hosts Transylvania on the first evening of the Emory National Tournament.
Emory Classic All-Tournament Team
Tyler Brown - Illinois Wesleyan
Rachel Burkman - Illinois Wesleyan
Camryn Purdom - Whittier
Madison Weiss - College of Saint Benedict
Makenna Bartlett - UT Tyler
Kaitlyn Budisalovich - UT Tyler
Morgan McKnight - Emory
Leah Saunders - Emory